


What it Means to be Partners

by treya_barton



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-07 20:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14089023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treya_barton/pseuds/treya_barton
Summary: My pieces for Souyo Week 2018.Based on the Tumblr prompt by souyoweek2018 the themes are:Day 1: Colors or SpaceDay 2: Soulmate AU or Crossover AUDay 3: Nanako or TeddieDay 4: Picnic or BeachDay 5: Together or SeparateDay 6: Music or CatsDay 7: Free day





	1. Space

**Author's Note:**

> I chose the theme of space, because I kept picturing Yosuke's headphones as something he uses to create his own personal space.

The Investigation Team wandered through the never-ending purple velvet lined halls of Marukyu Striptease.  It was dim despite the garish neon lights, and the thrumming music was beginning to give everyone a headache.  Everyone, that is, except Yosuke who always brought his headphones with him and was protecting himself by listening to his own music.  Yukiko and Chie were walking ahead and having an animated conversation with Teddie and Kanji occasionally taking part.  Teddie would sporadically turn around to see how his sensei was doing and draw him into the conversation as well, but for the most part they allowed their leader to follow behind in his silent contemplation.  They all respected Yu and knew that he tended to be more taciturn; he had been slowly warming up as he formed bonds with the team and gained friendships, but years of moving around and not having close friends meant it was a slow process.

Still, Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of the obvious closeness of Chie and Yukiko who had been friends for a long time.  He noted how they walked with their arms linked, Chie expressing irritation at Yukiko’s most recent pun while her best friend cackled over her own joke.  He glanced over at Yosuke who had been uncharacteristically silent as he listened to his music, arms crossed while he tapped out the beat to the song on his arm.  There was a distance between the two of them, made all the more apparent by Yosuke’s headphones which he used to create his own personal space.  Yosuke would hide behind those headphones when he got mad after the others teased him or when he was feeling anxious, which happened often in the Shadow World. 

Yu wished that he could bridge that distance, have Yosuke open up to him when he felt anxious instead, but knew that they weren’t close enough for that yet.  Yosuke, like him, was also not used to close relationships, admitting once that he had basically lost contact with his friends from the city already.  While Yu enjoyed all of his new friends, he felt like he’d like Yosuke to become his first best friend.  He enjoyed his friendly banter and felt a connection with the other city boy that he hadn’t had in the past; he figured it was their mutual loneliness that he hid behind a stoic façade and Yosuke hid behind self-deprecating humor.  His musings were soon interrupted by shouts ahead as Chie spotted shadows and they prepared themselves for battle.

A few weeks later, after they had successfully rescued Rise and were waiting for her to recover, Yu found himself accompanying Yosuke after school.  His friend had approached him during lunch, saying he didn’t have to go into Junes today and asking if he wanted to hang out, and Yu had immediately agreed.  They were heading to the shopping district; although it was swelteringly hot outside, Yosuke said he’d prefer to suffer in the heat than have to go into Junes on his day off, even if it had AC.  As they walked, Yosuke had his headphones on again and was silently mouthing the lyrics of the song to himself.  Yu couldn’t help but feel lonely as he watched his friend, wishing again to bridge that gap that would allow him into Yosuke’s world.

To his surprise, Yosuke seemed to notice the glances he kept stealing in his direction and pulled his headphones down to his neck.  “What’s up, partner?” he asked.  It was a nickname he had started using lately to signify their friendship, and Yu couldn’t lie about how it warmed his heart every time.

“I dunno, Yosuke.  You ask me to hang out and then have your headphones on the whole time,” Yu lightly admonished, feeling his test tighten slightly as he expressed his mild irritation.  He hoped it didn’t cause friction with his new “partner” but also wanted to see how Yosuke would react and if maybe he could get closer to him.

Yosuke immediately flushed in embarrassment, and instead of covering his ears again like he usually would, he tapped the music off on his phone instead.  “Sorry, that was pretty shitty of me,” he admitted.  “I just get nervous and this helps me relax…”

Yu reached out and lightly punched Yosuke’s arm, to show he wasn’t too upset.  “What’s got you anxious?” he asked.

Yosuke blushed even more, tripping over his words for a few moments.  He finally said, “Well, we haven’t hung out very much outside of the investigation stuff.  I didn’t know if you’d want to hang out with someone like me,” he shrugged, immediately looking away.

Yu’s eyes widened a bit at Yosuke’s admission.  He felt both relieved that Yosuke also seemed to want to hang out, yet disappointed at how his friend viewed himself.  “I definitely want to hang out with you more, partner,” he replied, and Yosuke looked over at him in surprise.  Yu hadn’t used the term yet since he started a few days ago, and Yu noticed the shy smile grace his lips in reply.

“Really?” Yosuke asked, and Yu nodded.  Yosuke punched his hand in the air in a little victory pose before suddenly slinging his arm around Yu’s neck.  Yu stiffened slightly at the sudden closeness, but willed himself to relax so as to not scare Yosuke off.  “We’re going to have a great afternoon then, partner,” Yosuke grinned, and they wound up walking closer together and chatting the rest of the trip to the shopping district.

They grabbed topsicles and drinks at the Shiroku store in order to cool off and wandered around at the Tatsuhime Shrine while consuming them.  Yu asked Yosuke about the music he was always listening to, which pleased his friend who immediately began gushing about a band he had discovered recently, promising to burn Yu a disc to give them a listen if he was interested.  They followed up their shrine visit with a stop at Souzai Daigaku for some croquettes and beef skewers, chatting as they ate on the plastic tables set outside of the store which only had a take-out window.  Yosuke treated Yu, stating that he just got paid, even though Yu tried to argue against it saying he had his own money from part-time work as well.  Yosuke insisted, saying he wanted to celebrate their first time really hanging out, and Yu couldn’t help but let him after that.  ‘He really is a great guy,’ Yu inwardly smiled. 

After they wrapped up, it was starting to get dark and both boys knew they’d have to head home before Yosuke’s parents and Yu’s uncle and cousin got worried.  As Yu headed back to the Dojima household, he couldn’t help but feel his chest swell a bit at the thought he finally bridged that space a little with Yosuke.


	2. Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if the rumor about seeing your soulmate on the midnight channel was actually true?

“Have you guys heard the rumor about the Midnight Channel?” Chie asked before class had started.  She, Yukiko, Yu, and Yosuke all sat around each other in the classroom and had taken to chatting before class and during breaks (and even during class if they could get away with it). 

“I can’t say that I have,” Yu replied, his voice smooth and collected.  He had a confident, unaffected presence that had immediately attracted the attention of most of the second years when he arrived; he had moved to Inaba at the start of the school year to stay with his Uncle while his parents were working overseas.

“Is it that soulmates thing?” Yosuke asked, his foot tapping in time to the music he had going in his headphones.  He had them resting around his neck so he could listen to the music and the conversation simultaneously. Yosuke had moved to Inaba in the middle of the semester the year before; his father came to run the Junes department store that had just opened up, so he got heckled by a lot of the locals who thought Junes was trying to steal local business.  The three of them were the closest things he had to friends in the area.

“Really Chie?  This again?” Yukiko, her best friend sighed while flipping her long, black hair over her shoulder.  Yukiko’s family owned the Amagi Inn which was a famous onsen in the area due to how long the family had been running it and how well they maintained it.  She was also popular in school, although she ignored most of the attention and preferred to hang out with her childhood friend Chie.

Chie was the resident tomboy and was obsessed with kung fu movies.  She was also in tune with the town gossip and was the first to know when something was going on.  “Yes, it’s the soulmate thing.  And, yes, I’m going to explain it because Narukami-kun doesn’t know about it.”  She then leaned forward in her chair in order to set the scene.  “The rumor is, if you look at a tv when it’s turned off on a rainy night at midnight, you’ll see your soulmate!”

Yukiko rolled her eyes, while Yosuke snorted.  “That’s such a lame rumor,” he complained.  “There’s no way that’s for real, right guys?”

He looked over at Yu and Yukiko.  Yukiko looked like she agreed, but Yu just shrugged his shoulders.  “Can’t hurt to try it out, right?” Yu reasoned.

Chie grinned.  “Yeah, Yosuke, can’t hurt to try it out,” she grinned.

“Hey, why does Narukami get respect while I get the rude treatment,” Yosuke complained, noting that Chie had used an honorific with Yu while he got first name treatment by them not long after moving there.

Chie shrugged.  “I guess I feel like he deserves it more?” she replied, causing Yosuke to sputter in annoyance.  She laughed before answering honestly, “I mean we still don’t know Narukami-kun really well.  It would be weird to call him by his name.”

“It won’t bother me,” Yu replied.  Both Chie and Yukiko blushed lightly at the comment, and Yosuke gagged at their reaction.

“Alright then, Yu-kun,” Yukiko replied with a slight giggle, while Chie nodded in response.

Their conversation was then interrupted by their teacher’s arrival and the start of class.  After classes were out for the day and they gathered their stuff to head home, Chie made them all promise to give it a try that night since it was supposed to rain in the evening.  “Yeah, yeah,” Yosuke said before stalking off while holding his bag over his shoulder. 

He had to go straight to Junes after class for work that day; he worked part time for his dad so he could have extra money to spend on music and videogames.  He was mainly stuck in the produce department helping to keep it stocked – a difficult job to do during the pre-dinner rush when they always had special deals on the produce.  After he wrapped up his shift, he headed home to eat dinner and to pretend to work on his homework.  He instead wound up listening to music while flipping through the week’s _Shounen Jump_ , wishing he were back in the city where he used to go out and hang out with his friends.  They had quickly fallen out of touch since he moved here, and he spent most of his free time alone, only occasionally hanging out with Chie and Yukiko when they invited him into town.

He was interrupted shortly before midnight by a text message from Chie, asking if he was awake and reminding him he had to check the Midnight Channel.  Yosuke scoffed before setting down his book and resting on his bed with his hands behind his head.  He watched the television idly, focused more on the current song that was playing.  Thus, he almost missed it when the tv suddenly crackled on with static as it hit midnight.  Yosuke blinked in surprise, especially when a shadowy figure came into view.  Yosuke squinted his eyes, and as he watched the figure began to grow clearer until he finally recognized it.  It was the new kid, Narukami Yu. 

‘What the hell kind of joke is this?’ Yosuke wondered, pulling out his phone to send a text message to Chie about how this joke wasn’t funny.  There was no way his soulmate was a dude, especially not that new guy.  He was kind of jealous of Yu because everyone seemed to immediately like him while Yosuke got mainly scorn or indifference because of his dad.

Before he could send a text, however, he got a disappointed message from Chie who said that while the static had appeared, she hadn’t seen anything.  Yukiko chimed in the group chat that she hadn’t either, and Yosuke suddenly didn’t know what to think.  ‘Why did I see Yu then?’ he thought, wondering if maybe their prank was just very elaborate.

“I told you it was lame,” Yosuke texted back.

“Maybe it just means we don’t have soulmates,” Chie replied while including the deep sigh emoji. 

Yosuke noticed an unknown number in the chat, and he realized that Chie had probably included the new guy.  “What about Yu?” he messaged, suddenly feeling curious.

No one messaged for a few moments, and Yosuke had a feeling that Yukiko and Chie were curious as well.  After a few minutes, Yu finally replied.  “I did see someone,” was his response, but no matter how many questions Chie and Yukiko asked him, he refused to give any details.

Yosuke was in too much shock to respond at first, wondering who it was Yu could have seen.  ‘What…if he saw me?’ Yosuke though, before shaking his head.  This all was just an elaborate prank, and he’d worry about it tomorrow in class.  Instead, he sent a message aimed at Yukiko and Chie telling them to knock it off and that maybe Yu had a reason he didn’t want to say anything.  “Can’t you respect a guy’s privacy?” he messaged.

He then got a separate text message from Yu’s number thanking him for his help and asking if it was ok to save his number.  Yosuke ignored the slight blush on his cheeks and replied, “Sure,” before quickly saving Yu into his contacts.  He then flipped his phone shut before tossing it on his bedside.  ‘I should probably try to get some sleep,’ he thought, before going to go brush his teeth and get ready for bed.

The next morning before class, Yukiko and Chie were already there asking Yu about what he had seen.  “Could you tell who it was, or was it just the outline of a figure?” Yukiko asked.

Yu met Yosuke’s eyes as he walked up to set his things down at his desk.  He quickly looked away, before saying honestly, “I could tell who it was.”

Yukiko and Chie gasped in awe.  “Really?” Chie asked.  “Then why won’t you say who it is?”

Yosuke grumpily sat down.  “Maybe he doesn’t want some weird rumor spreading around about them,” he said.  “Or thinks it may be inconvenient for the other person.”

Chie turned to look at Yosuke, looking irritated for a moment before a thoughtful expression suddenly crossed her face.  “You know, Yosuke, you never mentioned if you saw someone or not,” she said thoughtfully. 

Yosuke blushed furiously before turning away from them to face the front.  He sat right in front of Yu and suddenly found he didn’t want to look at the other guy.  “I didn’t,” he grunted, shoving his hands into his uniform pockets and studiously ignoring the other three.

Chie immediately pulled Yukiko aside and they began whispering furiously until the teacher arrived. All morning, Yosuke thought he felt Yu’s eyes bearing into the back of his head, but he felt like he was probably imagining things.  There was no way Yu had seen him too, right?  In fact, Yosuke had been tired last night and probably imagined it anyway.  He got his answer later, when Yu approached him during the lunch hour, asking if he could meet him up on the rooftop to eat.  Yosuke’s kneejerk reaction was to refuse, but the quiet transfer student’s steady gaze caused him to falter. 

“Yeah, ok,” he found himself replying instead, heading to the cafeteria to grab himself something to eat before heading up to where the rooftop was.  He found Yu already out there, sitting on a metal part of the roof that he was using as a bench and eating homemade food.  Yosuke vaguely knew that Yu was staying with his uncle who was a detective and figured that he didn’t have time to cook, so asked, “Did you make that yourself?” while sitting down with his onigiri and drink from the vending machine.

“Yeah,” Yuu replied.  “Is that all you’re going to eat?” he asked nodding at the onigiri.

Yosuke shrugged.  “Mom refuses to pack my lunch – says I’m too old for that.  And I kind of suck at cooking.”  He took a bite – it wasn’t anything special, but it at least filled his stomach.

“So, why’d you want to meet me anyway?” he finally asked.  Yu was carefully pushing food around in his container and paused thoughtfully.

“Did you really not see anything last night?” he asked, and Yosuke hesitated to reply.  He wanted to outright lie like he had that morning, but part of him felt like it would be wrong.  He began to jiggle his leg, arms crossed as he looked across the rooftop.  He had already finished his onigiri and still felt pretty hungry.

Finally, he responded.  “I may have seen something,” he admitted.  To his surprise, he suddenly saw a container of food in his peripheral vision and turned to see that Yu was trying to hand it to him.  “Dude, I’m not going to steal your food,” he said.

“I’ve already eaten plenty,” Yu said, pointing to the already empty container sitting next to him.  “I know you’re still hungry.  Next time I’ll make enough for both of us.”

Yosuke felt his cheeks warm, before hesitatingly taking the container.  Yu had an extra pair of chopsticks that he handed over, and Yosuke carefully took them before picking up a piece of the ginger pork and popping it in his mouth.  “Wow, you can really cook,” he said in amazement.  “Are you sure you want to share this with me?”

Yu laughed and nodded, looking pleased.  “Please, help yourself,” he said, and Yosuke quickly inhaled the rest of the food.

“You know, I was going to refuse your offer to share your lunch with me.  But I don’t know if I want to anymore,” Yosuke said good naturedly.  He then tapped his chopsticks on the empty container.  “So…what did you see?” he asked, carefully avoiding the gaze of the gray hair and eyed boy sitting next to him.

Yu leaned back, studying Yosuke carefully.  “I think you know,” he replied calmly.

“Well, I can’t be sure until you tell me, right?” Yosuke grunted, arms crossed.  He had swapped moving his leg for tapping on his arm instead.

“I saw you,” Yu said simply, still watching Yosuke for a reaction.  Yosuke’s shoulders slumped and he looked down before turning to face him.  While Yu was all grays and calm, Yosuke was bright with dyed orangish-brown hair and expressive brown eyes.  Those eyes currently bored into his searchingly, and Yu found it was his turn to lightly blush.

“I saw you too,” Yosuke finally admitted, before running a hand through his hair in frustration.  “What does that mean though?  And why didn’t Chie or Yukiko see anything?”

Yu shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m not sure,” he replied.  “I don’t think we should think too much about it though.  Just use this as an opportunity to become friends?”  It was now Yu’s turn to look away nervously, and Yosuke stared in surprise.

“You want to be friends?” he asked, his voice coming out with a slight squeak.  “You’ve got the whole class after you, and you want to be friends with…with _me_?”

Yu nodded.  “You’re the only one here who treats me like a normal human being,” he said honestly.  “It’s…refreshing.”  He paused.  “I’ve never had anyone act that way before.”  Yu normally kept his distance from people since he moved around a lot with his parents’ jobs, but Yosuke had managed to catch his attention due to the familiar, laid back way he treated him.

Yosuke thought for a few moments, before nodding to himself.  “Hey, if you’re going to cook lunch for me, I think the least I can do is be your friend,” he joked, before holding his fist in front of Yu.  Yu studied it for a moment before grinning and bumping his fist against Yosuke’s in return.  They still weren’t sure about the soulmate thing, but they were sure this was a tentative step to a real friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For day 2 which could be either a Soulmates AU or a Crossover AU, I picked the Soulmates AU. This is an actual AU on what would happen if the rumor about seeing your soulmate on the midnight channel...was exactly what was going on. No Shadow World, no murder mystery. Just a weird rumor that may actually be accurate.


	3. Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So the Day 3 prompt was Nanako or Teddie and I decided to include both and focus on the sibling like relationship that Yu has with Nanako and Yosuke has with Teddie :)

When Yu moved to Inaba, he was not expecting to gain a little sister.  Yet, here he was, doting on his adorable cousin Nanako yet again, bringing her to the Junes food court after he caught her singing the jingle after a commercial.  They were also going to grocery shop for dinner, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to get her lunch at her favorite place to visit.  Nanako skipped happily next to him as they walked, excitedly pointing out the different things she noticed, basking in his affection.  She had been shy when he first moved in, but it hadn’t taken long to win her over, and her him. 

Since she only had Dojima for a parent, due to her mother passing away when she was still young, she didn’t get a lot of attention at home due to his busy workload as a detective.  She was generally a very quiet child, and although she was only in elementary school, she was already adept at doing chores and cooking basic meals.  Yu couldn’t help but empathize with her, since as a kid he had often done the same with his busy parents hardly ever around.  Thus, Yu decided to give her as much attention as he could to make up for it.  And luckily, his friends did as well.  They were always happy to have Nanako tag along during outings and also showered her with attention as well; especially his best friend Yosuke who was touched the first time Nanako told him that Junes was her favorite place to visit.  He experienced a lot of negativity due to his family’s association with the store and had been flattered to find out Nanako loved it so much.

Yu smiled thinking about his friend and hoped that he would be at work today so he could say hi.  When they arrived at the food court, Yu’s grin widened for he noted that both Yosuke and Teddie were there that day.  Teddie was a bear creature that they had met in the Shadow World that looked like a giant, walking blue teddy bear.  However, one day he had grown a blond haired, blue eyed person in his suit and would now often travel to the real world, staying with Yosuke whose parents had practically adopted the strange creature at this point.  Yosuke’s dad liked that Teddie would help out at the store, passing out balloons to kids in his bear suit or doing other jobs liking helping to clean or stock, and his parents were kind enough to take him in without asking a lot of questions.  They were just happy that their son had finally found some friends to cheer him up.

While Yu was like a doting older brother to Nanako, Yosuke was more like the frustrated older brother to Teddie, constantly admonishing him for doing something stupid or teasing him mercilessly.  Teddie teased him right back and often did things to irritate Yosuke on purpose, so Yu figured it was probably fair.  Although they did bicker a lot, Yu knew that Yosuke did care about Teddie deep down, for he had been the first to offer to take care of him when he essentially popped up in the real world with a new body and had even offered to buy him clothes.  That wound up backfiring when the girls bought clothes that were way too expensive with his money, but even though Yosuke still grumbled about it to this day, he still doted on Teddie in other ways like getting him snacks or making sure he understood things about the human world that he encountered for the first time.

Currently, Yosuke was in his usual reprimanding mode, yelling at Teddie who had made a mess in the food court.  Teddie seemed to be tuning out the yelling as he haphazardly attempted to clean it up.  He spotted Nanako and Yu walk up and shouted out, “Sensei!” before dropping the mop on Yosuke’s foot and rushing over to give Nanako and Yu a hug.

Yosuke emitted a curse under his breath before kicking the mop in annoyance.  He wearily waved at Nanako and Yu before picking it up to properly clean the mess that Teddie had left behind.  “Hey partner,” he called, “How are you doing, Nanako?”

“Big bro said he wanted to buy me lunch,” Nanako replied shyly, a smile on her face.

“That’s great, Nanako!” Teddie said cheerfully.  Due to his childish personality, he and Nanako got along well.  Yu stepped forward to give Yosuke a hand with the cleaning, but Yosuke shook his head.

“I’ve got this,” he said.  “You take care of Nanako.”  He then turned to Teddie.  “You can go ahead and take your break, you good for nothing bear,” he grumbled, and Teddie cheered before he and Nanako headed over to the counter to figure out what they wanted to eat.

Yu chuckled to himself before following them.  Yosuke would never admit it, but he was definitely a softy.  While the three of them ate lunch, Yosuke straightened up the food court and chatted with them as he worked.  By the time they were done eating, he had wrapped up with cleaning and it was almost time for the end of their shift.  Nanako and Teddie had been whispering to each other for a few moments while their “older brothers” had been distracted and chatting about a videogame they were thinking about playing.  The conversation was interrupted by Teddie.

“Sensei, I want to take Nanako grocery shopping today,” he said proudly.  Yu blinked, quickly trying to decide if it was a safe idea.  Teddie was still pretty unfamiliar with human customs, and he could only imagine him picking out some weird ingredients for dinner.  However, he quickly remembered that Nanako would be accompanying him and had a lot more common sense than Teddie did.  He looked at Nanako, who was also looking at him hopefully.

“Of course you can take her,” he said.  “I can accompany you as well,” he started to add, but Nanako shook her head.

“Teddie and I want to do it ourselves, big bro,” she insisted with a sweet smile.  Yu felt himself melt, and he could tell Yosuke noticed by the teasing expression on his face.

“If you’d like,” he replied.

“Thank you, sensei!  We appreciate it beary much!” Teddie said, before taking Nanako’s hand.  Both of them excitedly skipped to the escalator to head to the produce section of the store.  Yosuke began to snicker as they left.

“Nanako has you wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she,” he teased, taking off his apron and heading to the counter to get his own lunch. 

“I can’t help but feel like they’re planning something,” Yu said, looking a little worried.

“Eh, with Nanako with him, I don’t think Ted will get into too much trouble,” Yosuke shrugged.  He sat next to Yu and slid his chili cheese fries over to share; he had gotten the large size for the both of them.  Yu kept looking toward the escalators where they had left, and Yosuke sighed.  “If you want to go after them…”

Yu shook his head.  “I think they wanted us to hang out, to be honest,” he replied, taking a fry and eating it.

Yosuke blushed slightly.  “Why would they do that?”

“Well, Teddie knew you were about to get off work.  And Nanako always says I look like I’m having fun when we hang out,” Yu replied straightforwardly.  Yosuke didn’t know what to say for a moment, and finally replied by throwing his empty straw paper at him.

“I never know how to reply when you say stuff like that,” Yosuke complained, and Yu laughed.  They both were soon wrapped up in another conversation, not even noticing when Teddie and Nanako had returned with the groceries and were watching from the other side of the food court.

“Big bro always looks so happy when he’s with Yosuke-kun,” Nanako said affectionately as she watched them.  Teddie nodded in agreement.

“Yosuke looks beary happy too!” he replied.  “I think it’s looooove, but Yosuke always denies it.”

Nanako giggled.  “I think so too,” she agreed.  Not long afterward, Yosuke and Yu finally spotted them and got up to meet up so Yu could take Nanako home.  Yu took Nanako’s hand and waved as they headed out, while Yosuke threw an arm around Teddie to drag him to the back to change out of his work uniform.  Yu heard Teddie loudly whisper something about love to Yosuke and chuckled as his friend looked obviously flustered and immediately began to deny it.

“Did you enjoy your visit to Junes?” Yu asked Nanako.

“I did!” she replied happily.  “I like it when we get to see Yosuke-kun, because big bro likes him.”  Yu found himself blushing this time, but lightly squeezed Nanako’s hand to show his agreement.  “Teddie says Yosuke-kun won’t admit it though. Does that make you sad?”  She looked a little sad at the thought.

Yu chuckled.  Nanako was asking the difficult questions today.  “It’s alright Nanako,” Yu replied carefully.  “Because I know Yosuke cares anyway.”  Nanako grinned and had a skip in her step again as they headed back home.


	4. Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 of Souyo Week. The prompts were beach or picnic and I went with beach :)

It had been over a year since the Investigation Team had last all met up since everyone was busy with their jobs and day to day lives.  However, they held steadfast to their promise to always keep in touch with one another, so this year when Rise had a break in her touring schedule, she rented them rooms at an onsen in Shirahama, a resort town south of Osaka known for its white beaches and hot springs.  She had even been nice enough to include Dojima and Nanako, and Yu found himself looking forward to seeing his family members since he hadn’t seen them since he and Yosuke had visited Inaba for New Years.  Nanako had just started high school and was doing well, and Yosuke couldn’t tell who was prouder about that – Yu or her father.

Dojima, on the other hand, had moved up to become the police chief of Inaba, and was now able to spend more quality time with his daughter.  He complained that a lot of his new job consisted of cleaning up messes caused by the rookie cops, one of which was Chie who had joined the academy after graduating college.  She had gotten a general education degree, since she wasn’t really interested in any particular subjects except PE, and she had passed the physical part of the police exam with flying colors.  The other parts were a bit more difficult, but she studied diligently with Yukiko’s help to ensure she’d pass it.  She had good instincts but was very energetic and sometimes overly confident which had lead to a few incidents of her own.

Yukiko, on the other hand, was still working at the Amagi Inn and had made peace with the fact she would one day inherit it.  She was now looking forward to it and was finishing up her masters in business management and hospitality to ensure when she eventually took over, she would have the necessary knowledge to keep the inn running smoothly.  She and Chie still hung out all the time since they were both in Inaba, and they were the two that got to see everyone else the most as well since the others would often end up visiting Inaba to see family. Kanji had also stayed in Inaba after getting his degree in education and a teaching license.  He was now an elementary school teacher at the very same school Nanako and all of the Inaba natives went to growing up.  He enjoyed teaching the kids crafts and had a lot of patience when dealing with them.

Naoto had continued her career as a detective and was now highly sought after for her analytical abilities.  She had worked some major cases and was well known in the investigative community.  She was confident now and had really grown into her role, facing any discrimination for being a woman head on.  Teddie, meanwhile, had stayed in Inaba with Yosuke’s parents, and was training to become a manager at the store.  He took his job very seriously, much to Yosuke’s amazement, and Yosuke’s parents often told him how proud they were of Teddie’s growth whenever they chatted on the phone. 

They were also proud of their son who had finally blossomed in college and figured out what he wanted to do with his life.  Yosuke had joined the local college station as a radio host, and his hobby turned into a career when he graduated and got offered a job at one of the many city stations.  He also would sometimes DJ on the weekends for events, and Rise had even let him come on stage as a guest DJ when she held her concert in one of the local arenas.  Yosuke thought he had died and gone to heaven, being on stage with Risette.

Yu, meanwhile, lived with Yosuke in an apartment in the city and had just wrapped up his masters in psychiatry.  He was planning on becoming a psychiatrist so he could continue to help people like he had in Inaba.  His parents were happy he had taken on a career related to the medical field, even if it wasn’t as prestigious as a surgeon like they had pictured for him growing up.  They also didn’t mind his choice of partner, which had surprised Yu after he and Yosuke had finally figured out their feelings in college when they had been staying together in the dorms.  He felt sure his parents would object, but instead they had been supportive, happy that after his lonely childhood he had found someone he cared about and who made him happy.  Yosuke’s parents, on the other hand, were ecstatic, for Yu had always been a great influence on their son.  Yosuke’s mom always talked proudly about how she had suspected things would end up this way when they were in high school, with Yosuke usually bashfully protesting.

By this point, everyone had checked in at the onsen and had stashed their items in their rooms and changed into their swim gear.  When they arrived at the beach and took off their outer ware, Yu caught Yosuke eyeing the girls, which caused Yu to good naturedly smack him on the back of his head.  “Ouch, what was that for partner?” Yosuke asked, rubbing his head and dropping his bag on the sand.

“After all this time, you’re still oogling the girls,” Yu said with exasperation as he pulled his shirt off.

“It wasn’t like that!” Yosuke protested, drifting off as he grew distracted by his boyfriend’s toned chest.  Yu felt his jealousness wear off a bit, happy that after dating for so long he could still catch Yosuke’s attention like that.

“Oh? Then what was it like?” Yu asked.  He was wearing black swim trunks like usual, with a simple checker pattern on the bottom, and had filled out and toned up as he had grown older.

Yosuke quickly tossed off his shirt as well, before pulling out sunblock for both of them to use.  He was wearing red swim trunks with a tropical flower pattern on them.  Yu found himself eyeing his boyfriend’s body as well, smiling when he spotted Yosuke self-consciously scratch the back of his head when he noticed.  “I was just reminiscing, you know?  On the first time we were all at the beach.  And what things were like back then.”  Yosuke looked a little wistful, and Yu smiled at him.

Beside them, Dojima had settled under an umbrella with a book and a drink; he wasn’t planning on getting into the water and kept on his shorts and Hawaiian shirt as he relaxed.  Nanako was wearing a cute pink and white two-piece swimsuit with a crop top that showed a little bit of her midriff, and Yosuke noticed Yu frown slightly and begin scanning the beach for any males that may be looking.  Yosuke snickered and good naturedly punched his partner on the arm, before heading to the water to meet up with Kanji and Teddie who were already splashing each other. 

Kanji had on a speedo as usual, but now had an even more buff body to show off, while Teddie had on blue swim trunks that matched his eyes and went well with his blond hair.  He kept cajoling the girls to come and join them, but they ignored him and instead focused on putting on sunblock and taking pictures.  Chie was wearing her usual bikini top with swim shorts bottom in green and yellow, while Yukiko had on a white swim dress over her bikini.  Rise had on a pink and white bikini with a flower pattern, while Naoto was wearing a simple, navy blue one-piece swimsuit.

“Sempai, why don’t you join us instead of going to meet those idiots?” Rise asked with a smile, once Yu was finished glaring at all the other men on the beach.  “We’re thinking about playing some beach volleyball!”

“Yes, with Nanako joining us, we need an extra player,” Naoto reasoned.  “In the name of fairness, we must have even teams.”

Yu glanced at the water, where Teddie was attempting to dunk Yosuke, who managed to turn it around to where he dunked Teddie instead.  He knew that they would both soon try to dunk Kanji, which wouldn’t go well.  He shook his head before agreeing to join.  He wound up on a team with Rise and Nanako, while Chie, Yukiko, and Naoto were on the opposing team.  Although Chie was very competitive, Naoto ended up being incompetent at the sport while Yukiko didn’t care enough about it to try very hard.  Rise was pretty decent and Nanako picked up on it swiftly, so they quickly dominated the game to Chie’s disappointment. 

“I need to wash off that loss with a swim in the ocean,” she grumbled, before dragging Yukiko over to the water so they could splash around.  Nanako wound up going to join Teddie and Kanji, while Rise decided to lay out for a bit and enjoy the break in her schedule.  Yu, meanwhile, headed over to join Yosuke, who had moved away from Teddie and Kanji in order to relax on the waves.  He was floating in the water with his eyes closed, completely comfortable and enjoying the sun and the water. 

Yu smiled to himself and silently swam over, stopping next to him and watching for a moment to see if Yosuke registered his presence.  When he didn’t, Yu leaned forward to give him a chaste kiss, laughing when Yosuke started at the sudden movement and thrashed for moment until realizing who it was.  “You can’t do that to me,” he huffed, before leaning forward to give Yu a return kiss.  This caught Yu by surprise, because Yosuke was usually too shy to show affection in front of their friends.  He smiled into the kiss, happy to be surrounded by all of the people he loved again.

Yosuke then immediately dunked Yu into the water, ruining the mood and starting another string of dunk wars between all of the friends.  They wound up enjoying a long day in the sun, before retiring to their rooms for an amazing dinner set by the onsen staff; even Yukiko had to admit it was on par with what her family served.  They then spent a relaxing evening utilizing the hot springs, especially the mixed hot spring that could be frequented by both sexes.  It was nice to unwind and catch up on what everyone had been up to.

After a long evening, Yu and Yosuke retired to their room, happy to be able to climb into their futons which the staff had laid out for them.  They had just gotten ready for bed, snuggling together on the same futon, and were about to drift off to sleep.  Yosuke sleepily said, “Yu?” which caught his attention and interrupted their sleep.  Yosuke rarely addressed him by his real name, and usually preferred to use his pet name.

“Yes, Yosuke?” he asked, studying his boyfriend’s face.  Yosuke opened his eyes to stare back.

“I’m just glad you wound up in Inaba,” he admitted.  “All of this – it would have never happened without you.”

Yu started to shake his head, but Yosuke gently reached out to cup his face.  “It’s true,” he said.  “You were the bond that brought everyone together.  I think, without you, I may have ended up more like Adachi.  Bitter at the world.  But instead?” he smiled.  “I get to have friends and spend time with you.”

Yu didn’t know what to say to that.  So, he instead pulled Yosuke closer and wrapped his arms around him.  “I’m glad too,” he said softly.  “That you were in Inaba.  I never had a real friend until I met you.”  Yosuke let out a soft sigh before also wrapping his arms around Yosuke.  They stayed that way for a few moments, until it grew too hot and they pulled away to drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, when I thought about the beach prompt, I felt like writing it as if they were all older and meeting up after it had been awhile. Every time I go to the beach with my friends it's like a throwback to us hanging out when we were younger, so I guess I brought that into the story.


	5. Separate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Day 5 was Together or Separate and I immediately thought about Separate. I know that it's a common theme but it's still the one I immediately latched on.

Senior year was torture, Yosuke decided, without his best friend.  Although everyone still hung out and talked regularly, it just wasn’t the same.  It was like before Yu had moved to Inaba, when Yosuke would hang out with Chie and Yukiko occasionally and feel like he was intruding on their little world.  He felt more included now than he did then of course, but he still hated feeling like a third wheel.  When Yu was there, he always had his friend’s full attention, which helped Yosuke feel more like he belonged.

Rise, Kanji, and Naoto were all in a grade below, so while Yosuke would get to hang out with them occasionally during lunch or after school, it did little to fill the void left by his partner.  They had different things to focus on than the third years who were all scrambling to figure out what they wanted to do after graduation or preparing for college entrance exams, so as a result they didn’t get to hang out very often outside of class. Teddie, of course, still stayed at Yosuke’s house, but because he worked at Junes and didn’t go to school, and because Yosuke was so focused on studying now, he hardly saw him these days.  Teddie liked to hang out with Kanji and Nanako when he was off work, since Rise and Naoto were both working after class and Chie and Yukiko were also studying.  Which was fine, because Yosuke had decided to try for an entrance exam at a university in Tokyo, and now spent most of his free time actually studying for a change.  His parents had hired him a tutor since there wasn’t a cram school nearby. 

Yosuke had made a promise to Yu that he would meet him for college in Tokyo, and he planned on keeping it.  He knew Yu would have no problem getting into any college of his choice with his grades, but they had picked out a few schools to try for that Yu felt sure Yosuke could probably get into if he applied himself and that had decent medical programs that Yu was interested in.  He had decided after all he had gone through in Inaba that he wanted to be a psychiatrist so he could help people while still becoming a doctor for his parents.  Yosuke didn’t know what he wanted to do, but he figured he would decide once he got to college.  He and Yu wanted to be roommates of course, which was another motivation for Yosuke to study and apply himself.  He really missed his friend and couldn’t wait to be around him full time again. 

Yosuke was currently at home working on his homework, and he kept eyeing his phone distractedly, considering sending Yu a text.  He didn’t want to annoy his friend or whine about how it wasn’t the same without him; while Yosuke was lonely, he still got to see the others pretty often while Yu was completely cut off back in Tokyo.  ‘I don’t want Yu to think I’m too much of a jerk,’ Yosuke thought, while tapping his mechanical pencil against his worksheet.  His hand reached for his phone, hovering over it for a moment before pulling away.  Yu was probably busy studying, and Yosuke didn’t want to bother him.  But…he also missed his best friend and wanted to see how he was doing.  ‘This is the worst,’ Yosuke groaned, before resting his head on his desk in defeat.

He sat like that for a few minutes before his phone buzzed to indicate he had received a text message.  Yosuke grabbed his phone, twisting his head which was still resting on the table so he could flip it open and read the text message.  To his delight it was from Yu, asking if he was busy.  Yu quickly messaged back that he was just working on homework but could definitely use a distraction, and a moment later his phone began to ring.

Yosuke quickly hit the green answer button before putting his phone up to his ear.  “Hey, partner, what’s up?” he asked, his heart fluttering in anticipation.  While he and Yu messaged often, it had been a little while since they last talked on the phone.

“I wanted you to know that I talked to my parents and will definitely be coming for Golden Week,” Yu replied straightforwardly.  Yosuke felt himself immediately relax upon hearing his friend’s familiar voice, not even realizing that he had been feeling anxious since he had left.

“That’s awesome!  The others will be thrilled to hear that!” Yosuke replied.  “Will you be staying at the Dojima’s?”

“Yes.  However…” Yu trailed off.

“Yeah?” Yosuke pressed.

“I was wondering if one of those nights I could stay with you.  For old time’s sake,” Yu carefully asked.  “Besides, it would be like practice for when we dorm together,” he reasoned.

Yosuke felt a wide grin spread across his face.  “Of course!  I mean, I’d like that,” he said shyly.  Yosuke could barely make out the light chuckle his friend gave over the phone.

“Good. I would like that as well,” he answered.  Yosuke then filled him in on what everyone had been up to and how they all missed him.  Yu listened attentively, occasionally interrupting to ask clarifying questions. 

Eventually, he made a comment that Yosuke wasn’t expecting.  “It doesn’t sound like you’ve been spending time with anyone,” he noted, and Yosuke fell silent for a moment.

“Ah, I haven’t been,” he admitted.  “It’s just not the same without you.  And, I’ve been so focused on studying…”

“Why didn’t you let me know?” Yu asked. Although he had steadied his voice, Yosuke had learned to pick up little nuances over time and could read that Yu was disappointed with him.  He hated it when his best friend was disappointed in him.

“I just didn’t want to bother you, you know?” Yosuke replied.  “I didn’t want to be that asshole complaining that I feel like a third wheel without you, when you don’t get to see anybody, except Rise when she’s doing stuff with her agency out there.”

“You never bother me,” Yu replied, and Yosuke’s breath caught for a moment.

‘What did I do to deserve a friend like him?’ he pondered.  “Thanks, partner,” he replied quietly.  “How have you been doing, by the way?”

Yu filled him in on how classes were going at both his school and the cram school he went to in the evenings and some of the hobbies he still kept up with since Inaba.  As he talked, Yosuke noted that Yu hadn’t really seemed to have made a lot of friends like he had in Inaba, and he began to feel sorry for his friend who was definitely in a worse boat that he was.  ‘I can’t keep feeling sorry for myself when Yu’s got it so much worse,’ he realized.  It was also now getting late, and he knew he’d have to wrap up his homework to start getting ready for bed soon.  “Partner, I promise when you get here, we’ll make up for all you’ve missed out on,” Yosuke said confidently.  He knew that between him, their friends, and Yu’s family they’d definitely make good on that promise.

“I’ll look forward to that,” Yu replied, and Yosuke happily noted the smile in his friend’s voice.  They then bid each other good night and hung up to get ready for bed.


	6. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 of Souyo week had a theme of music or cats. I choose music~

Yu was nervous as he headed over to the Hanamura household for the first time.  He was invited over by his new friend, ostensibly to study, but he had a feeling that they would quickly grow distracted.  He had a bag with clothes on him as well since the next day was Sunday and they would be off from school.  Yosuke had suggested he just stay over and both Yu’s uncle and Yosuke’s parents agreed that it was ok.  Yu wanted to make a good impression on Yosuke’s parents and had no idea what to expect.  Yosuke complained about his parents a lot, but Yu suspected a lot of that stemmed from his friend’s laziness and not from them being necessarily strict.  He was about to find out, however, since he had finally arrived.

The Hanamura’s lived in a decent sized house due to Yosuke’s father’s job as the store manager at the Inaba Junes location.  It looked a little bit larger than the Dojima home, but still definitely a house meant for a middle-class family.  Yu rang the buzzer at the gate leading to the house, and after a few minutes he heard his friend’s voice cackle on the radio, “Hey Yu, come on in!” before the gate buzzed indicating it had been unlocked.  Yu swung the gate inward before heading down the short path to the front door, which swung open to reveal his friend.  Yosuke had already changed into his casual clothes after class and had on a white t-shirt with his favorite band’s logo on it, red cargo pants, and his red headphones adorning his neck like always.  He was slightly out of breath, and Yu suspected he had probably just been tidying his room.  “Come on in, my mom has snacks for us in the dining room,” Yosuke said, reaching forward to grab his bag as Yu took off his shoes inside the door.  Yu placed them on an empty spot on the shoe cubby while Yosuke brought Yu’s bag upstairs to set in his room for the time being.

Yu had also changed into his casual clothes and had on a white polo with its collar popped and brown slacks.  He stepped into the room, sliding his feet into guest house slippers that had been set out for him, and glancing around curiously.  Just inside the door was the Hanamura’s living room and dining room, with the kitchen visible from the dining room area.  It reminded him a lot of his uncle’s house layout, only with more space.  He was interested to notice that in the living room were two large bookshelves full of music – cds, tape cassettes, and vinyl records were all neatly displayed in place of the usual books or movies that most households contained.  There was also a large stereo sound system sitting below the television, and Yu could see that it still had a spot to play cassettes as well.  In a corner of the room was a record player.  Yosuke’s dad was sitting in the living room watching television, and noticed Yu looking at the living room curiously. 

He stood up and walked over to give Yu a firm handshake.  “You must be Yosuke’s friend, Narukami-san, was it?” he asked, and Yu nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hanamura-san,” he replied with a slight bow.

“Ah, you’ve got good manners.  Hopefully you’ll be a good influence on my son,” Yosuke’s dad chuckled, before leading him into the living room to show off his music.  “This is a lifetime’s worth of collecting,” he introduced, showing Yu how he had everything separated by year and then alphabetized afterward.  “I couldn’t bear to get rid of my cassettes since I have so many. I just hope our stereo holds up,” he sighed.

Yosuke had headed back downstairs and groaned.  “Dad, don’t bore Yu with your music collection,” he complained.

“I find it really interesting,” Yu replied.  “I didn’t realize you got your love of music from your dad.”  Yosuke’s dad grinned proudly at Yu’s reply, while Yosuke looked flustered.

“I like this kid.  You should bring him around more often,” Yosuke’s dad laughed.

“Way to boost my dad’s ego,” Yosuke sighed, before leading Yu over to the dining room where his mom had set out strawberries, tea cookies, and hot tea for them to snack on before studying.  She was in the kitchen working on curry for dinner and introduced herself from where she was currently chopping the vegetables.

“It’s nice to meet you, Narukami-san,” she said.  “We’re so happy that Yosuke finally has a friend in Inaba!”

“Mom!” Yosuke complained, before covering his face with his hands.  His mom laughed in a good-natured way, and Yu chuckled as well.

“I am happy to have finally made a friend as well, Hanamura-san,” he replied politely.  “Thank you for letting me stay over tonight.”

“The pleasure is ours.  I hope you like the curry I’m preparing for dinner,” she replied.

“I am sure it will be delicious.  Thank you for the snacks,” Yu replied politely, and Yosuke could tell by the happy smile on her face that she approved of Yu as well.

“How do you do it?” Yosuke whispered before popping a strawberry in his mouth.

“Do what?” Yu whispered back, and Yosuke shook his head.

“Just win people over so effortlessly,” he sighed, and Yu chuckled.

“It’s not as easy as you think,” he replied, and they lightly chatted as they finished their snacks.

“We’re going to go upstairs to study,” Yosuke called, bringing their dishes into the kitchen to rinse them off before dragging Yu upstairs before his parents could embarrass him any further.  Once they were upstairs, Yosuke spread out his textbook and notes on his bed; he had a desk in his room but it was only meant for one person to use so he figured they’d both sprawl across his bed to do their work.

“I find it interesting that your dad is so interested in music,” Yu began as he pulled his own notes and books out of his bag.  “He certainly has a large collection across different periods of time and genres.  I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Yeah, I’ve probably made him out to seem like a typical businessman,” Yosuke laughed.  “My dad’s a total music nerd though.  You were right earlier – I do get it from him,” he confessed.

Yu crossed his legs as he sat on Yosuke’s bed, listening intently.  He was happy to learn something new about his friend.  “I always grew up listening to different music with my dad – it’s one of the few things we bond over.  He really doesn’t understand videogames or any of that, so it’s been our thing.  And I listen to a lot more music because of him too.”

Yu had a wide grin on his face, and Yosuke grunted.  “Dude, it’s not cool to make fun of me,” he said, tossing one of his pillows at him. 

Yu caught it and set it on his lap.  “I’m not making fun of you.  I’m glad to learn something new about you.  I knew you liked music, but I didn’t realize how important it was to you and that it was such a passion for your family.”

Yosuke didn’t know what to say to that, and quickly hid behind one of his textbooks.  “We came here to study, didn’t we?” he asked, and they managed to actually get some studying done for about an hour before Yosuke’s mom called them down to dinner.

When they headed down, they saw Yosuke’s dad carefully looking through some of his records, before selecting one and popping it on their record player so they could listen to an album as they ate dinner.  They were soon listening to one of his favorite singers from the 70s, and as they ate salad and curry, he regaled them with trivia about the artist and the album, tying it into when he had first heard it as a kid.  Yosuke would interrupt occasionally to ask about some trivia his dad had told him before, ensuring that Yu would learn about the details he found more interesting.  Yosuke’s mother listened in amusement, eyes twinkling over how excited the two men in her life seemed to be about sharing their passion with Yosuke’s new friend.  Yu absorbed all of the information, listening attentively and occasionally asking for clarification on some of the interesting tidbits.  Neither of Yu’s parents were really interested in music, so beyond what Yosuke had shared with him at school, he had never really paid attention to it.  He found all the new knowledge fascinating and was glad the Hanamura family was teaching him about their passion.

After dinner, both boys excused themselves and headed back upstairs, taking turns in the bathroom to change into their pjs so they could relax and hang out for the rest of the evening.  Yu thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Hanamura’s, who were much warmer and more inviting than his own parents or his uncle who were all busy most of the time.  Dojima at least was trying harder to be home and spend time with him and Nanako, but it still was nothing like what he had experienced here.  He found himself more interested in music as well, and he couldn’t wait to come back and visit some more to gain more music trivia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this prompt was actually pretty personal to me. When I picked music, I knew I wanted to write about Yosuke's relationship with his dad, based on my relationship with mine. My dad is a music buff, and we often hang out together listening to his albums while he tells me tidbits about the music or the artist. He's really good at knowing the artist and what album a song comes off of and what year the song came out. So, I added that to Yosuke's dad because I feel most stories don't portray them having a close relationship, and I thought maybe Yosuke would have gotten his music appreciation from his dad like I did with mine :)


	7. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last day of Souyo Week was a free choice and after talking with some friends I decided on food :)

Yu was standing in the apartment, carefully stirring the beef stew that he was making to surprise Yosuke for their anniversary.  He had also baked them a cake for after dinner which was currently cooling so he could frost it.  He had started on the stew early that morning, knowing that Yosuke preferred it to simmer all day in order to improve the flavor.  Yosuke was an evening radio host and wouldn’t be back for another hour or so, which gave Yu plenty of time to wrap up on dinner.  He had already chopped up vegetables for a salad to go with the stew and had rice going in the rice cooker as well.  The cake was almost cooled, so he knew that he’d be able to start frosting it in a few minutes.

As he carefully stirred, he reminisced about the first time Yosuke had tried his food, back when they had first gotten to know each other.  It had been a ginger pork dish that he had tried for the first time, and he and Yosuke had met up at the roof for lunch for the first time as well.  Yu remembered how Yosuke had only brought onigiri and a drink, and how he had offered to share his food with the hungry boy.  Yosuke had tried to refuse at first, until Yu insisted on having him try a bite.  Upon realizing how good it was (and how hungry he was), Yosuke had quit protesting and had quickly finished off the rest of the food.

Yu soon began to bring extra food during lunch to share with Yosuke, who was always excited to try Yu’s new dishes and gave his honest opinion on how it had turned out.  While most of the time Yosuke enthusiastically told him it was great, there had been a few occasions where Yu had slipped up when making a dish for the first time and it had been not so great.  The first time he made oden, which Yosuke had mentioned being his favorite winter dish, he hadn’t cooked it long enough and the vegetables had still been crunchy.  Yosuke had assured him the broth tasted fine, but he admitted that the vegetables were definitely not cooked enough. 

Yu had been determined to make it right, and the following Monday he proudly brought in his second attempt which he had cooked the night before and had come out much better.  Yosuke had been touched that Yu had cared enough to perfect the dish, and had warmly asked, “What did I do to deserve a friend like you?” It had been around this time that Yu started to realize that his feelings for his friend were probably not platonic, and he had been trying to bury his feelings, sure that his friend who had only expressed interest in girls and seemed slightly homophobic would never return his feelings.

Yu interrupted his musings to cover up the stew with a lid in order to let it simmer for a bit while he pulled out the frosting mixture he had mixed from scratch earlier to begin decorating the cake.  It was a angel food cake that he was covering in a whipped cream frosting and would follow up by decorating with strawberries and a little powdered sugar.  Yosuke seemed to like strawberries, which Yu picked up on when he visited his house and noted that his mom often had them set out as a snack.  While Yu decorated the cake, he thought back to the first meal he had made Yosuke when they had moved into their dorm for the first time as roommates.  The dorm had a central kitchen for the students to share and use to cook, and he had decided their first night in to cook something special to commemorate their start as roommates.

Yu had decided to make katsudon, finding it fitting for the start of their university.  Yosuke had always liked the pork cutlets that Yu had made throughout the school year, so he knew that his friend would enjoy the dish.  As he cooked, Yosuke sat one of the counters and kept him company, animatedly discussing his plans to join the college radio station after noticing them trying to recruit at the front of the school that day.  Yu had been happy to see his friend show enthusiasm for something, for he remembered the text messages Yosuke had sent all summer expressing his uncertainty about picking a topic to study in college and how he didn’t want to disappoint his parents.  Music had always been a passion for Yosuke, and Yu thought working with the school’s radio group would be a great fit.

After Yu had finished piling rice in two bowls, covering them with the steaming pork cutlets, onions, and fried eggs and drizzling them with tonkatsu sauce, he and Yosuke made their way to the common room to eat their dinner.  Yosuke had dug in enthusiastically, praising Yu and commenting on how much he had missed his partner’s food.  Yu had smiled proudly, glad that he could show his feelings for his friend in some small way.

It wouldn’t be another two months until Yosuke confessed his feelings to his friend.  Yu smiled as he reminisced, beginning to carefully place the strawberries on the cake in the form of a heart.  On the day Yosuke had confessed, Yu had cooked again, making a simple dinner of fish, miso soup, rice, and some pickled vegetables on the side.  They had tests to study for, so he hadn’t wanted to take too long to cook so they could crack down on the studying.  Yosuke had been uncharacteristically quiet after class that day, and he kept picking at his food and looking around the room like he was trying to avoid eye contact with Yu.  Yu, of course, immediately noticed.  It had been a long time since Yosuke had acted so awkwardly around him, and he wondered what was wrong.

“Did I do something wrong?” he finally asked, breaking the awkward silence.  They were alone in the common room since most of the other students were studying at the library.  Yu preferred to study in the dorm, and Yosuke always stayed with him to keep him company.

That startled Yosuke out of his thoughts.  “Why would you think you did something wrong?” he asked, looking genuinely bewildered.  He then began to take some bites of the fish and rice.

“You keep refusing to look at me,” Yu replied evenly, and Yosuke blushed at getting called out on it.

“Uh,” he started, obviously having trouble figuring out what to say.  His blush deepened, and Yu watched, completely unsure on what Yosuke would say.  He remined silent for a few moments, picking at his food before letting out a deep sigh.  “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said, looking incredibly nervous.  “I just…I just hope you don’t hate me afterward.”

“I could never hate you, Yosuke,” Yu replied firmly, feeling his heart skip a beat.  He started to have slight hope bubbling beneath the surface at what he hoped Yosuke would say next, completely taken aback at the way things seemed to be headed.  ‘There’s no way this is happening, right?’ he thought.  ‘I’m reading into this the wrong way.’  He had given up on Yosuke ever returning his feelings, even though his own feelings had never actually faded away.

“Well, I just, started realizing a few things that year that you left Inaba,” Yosuke started slowly.  “Gah, I feel like such a jerk after all the shit I said to Kanji too,” he muttered under his breath. 

Yu immediately stopped breathing, realizing that he may in fact be reading things the right way.  “Go on,” he prodded gently, after Yosuke trailed off.

“I…” Yosuke said, his face completely red by this point.  He stared down hard at his plate, where the fish had been completely torn apart and lay in a messy pile.  “I think I’m in love with you partner,” he said, his voice obviously strained at the effort.

Yu was stunned and didn’t know how to respond.  He had never expected Yosuke to return his feelings, and suddenly found his mind devoid of anything to say in response.  Yosuke continued to stare at his plate, obviously afraid at what expression Yu would have on his face.  After a moment of silence, Yu stood up and walked over to stand next to Yosuke, reaching over and tentatively lifting Yosuke’s chin with his fingers so he could face him. 

Yosuke’s eyes widened at the expression on Yu’s face; his usual calm façade had been shattered and he was instead clearly showing the full extent of his feelings to Yosuke for the first time.  Yosuke saw love in Yu’s eyes, a relieved smile gracing his face, and underneath it a slight tension in his expression that belied an underlying heat that he had kept to himself for years.  “You too?” Yosuke asked hesitatingly, and Yu nodded, slight tears of happiness forming at the corner of his eyes.  He looked simply overwhelmed.

Yosuke reached up, placing a hand on Yu’s face in return, before gently pulling him down until he braced himself over Yosuke, one hand resting on the chair while the other steadied himself on the table for balance.  Yu then reached down and gently brushed his lips against Yosuke’s waiting a moment to see if he shied away.  Yosuke instead returned the kiss with a shy one of his own, which encouraged Yu to deepen the kiss in return.  Needless to say, they wound up spending the evening sharing stories about when they had realized they had feelings for each other and discussing the changes to their relationship, instead of getting any real studying done for their tests.

Yu smiled at the memory, before setting the cake in the fridge to keep chilled for later.  He then began to set the table, bringing out the special plates they had saved for company, and dimming the lights and lighting some candles.  He placed the pot of stew in the middle of the table so they could fill their bowls as they ate and placed the salad in another serving bowl before scooping some rice into a bowl each for both him and Yosuke.  He pulled out a bottle of wine that he had researched and knew should pair well with the stew before pouring both him and Yosuke a glass.  He took off his apron – a gift Yosuke had given him for Christmas one year – and hung it in the kitchen before sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for Yosuke who should arrive at any minute.

Sure enough, several minutes later he heard Yosuke’s footsteps up the stairwell before there was the sound of a key in the door.  It opened moments later, Yosuke blinking in surprise at the dim lighting and noticing the set table and the candlelight.  “Partner, you didn’t have to do anything special,” he said, dropping his bag on the couch and heading over to share a kiss with his boyfriend.  “I promised you that I would take us to dinner over the weekend to celebrate…”

“Yes, and I expect you’ll treat me to a lovely time,” Yu laughed.  “But I also wanted to contribute to our anniversary.”

Yosuke lifted the lid on the pot, and he smiled as he caught a whiff of the contents.  “Oh man, you made my favorite stew,” he said.  “You really do love me.”

Yu laughed as his cheeky response, before pouring both of them their first bowl of stew.  As they ate, Yu told him about all the meals he reminisced about as he cooked.  Yosuke laughed good naturedly at some of the failed attempts and expressed embarrassment at his confession.  “That had to be the most unromantic way to confess to someone ever,” he sighed in exasperation. 

Yu laughed.  “I think that was the best tasting fish I’ve ever had,” he joked. 

“I honestly cannot remember how it tasted,” Yosuke rebuked.  “I was too nervous.”  After enjoying the main course and the wine, Yu brought out the cake which Yosuke eyed with interest.  “You really went out of your way for this,” he said in amazement, quickly using his phone to take a picture to share with their friends later.

“Well, I’ve been trying to tell you how I felt through my food for years.  I figure it was finally time to make it more obvious,” Yu joked, and Yosuke snorted.

“You’re such a dork,” he said, before happily cutting a slice and taking a bite.  “Your feelings taste good, by the way,” he teased, and Yu grinned.

They enjoyed a relaxing evening with each other, reminiscing more about high school and the different adventures they had gone on with their friends.  Later that weekend, Yosuke managed to surprise Yu when he used their anniversary dinner to spring out a ring and ask him for his hand in marriage.  He confessed he had already spoken to Yu’s parents and his own parents, and both were supportive with the idea.  “Dojima, on the other hand, told me if I got you into trouble again he’d kick my ass, but I think I got his blessing too after that?” Yosuke said, and Yu had merely laughed before throwing his arms around his best friend.

“Of course I’ll marry you, partner” he replied, and Yosuke’s tightened their embrace in response.  He always loved it when Yu used their pet name for each other, and he was happy that it would no longer just be a term between friends or between lovers.  Now, it would be their official title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I completed the whole week :D I had actually pre-written everything since I wasn't sure if I would be able to write on days that I worked, but it still feels like an accomplishment to have posted every day ^^~ This last part actually ties together a lot of the earlier prompts - I was really happy with how it came out :D

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a prompt on Tumblr for Souyo week and decided to try my hand at it. This is my second time posting something and not just writing for my friends, and my first time trying to post once a day for a week like this. When I do write it's usually over 100 pages as well, so this is good practice in something a little shorter lol.


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